Of course Manning hasn't been released: Manning wouldn't be talking about himself as the Colts quarterback if he'd been released. And he'd probably already be negotiating with other teams.

And perhaps a decision, in the official sense of the word, hasn't been reached yet. Irsay has until March 8 to make a final call on Manning and jumping the gun on his final decision wouldn't be prudent, particularly considering that Manning could make progress, physically, over the next month or so.

Neither would admitting that Manning's done in Indy immediately before the entire world turns its collective football-watching eyes onto the Colts hometown for the next week plus.

And maybe Irsay's simply leaning strongly one way and giving himself the option to flip-flop as the deadline nears.

"According to sources who were involved in the Colts’ GM search, the organization was planning to move on from Manning weeks ago, well before this public squabble between the quarterback and his owner," LaCanfora said Friday. "So Friday’s joint statement won’t be changing a thing."

Irsay said prior to hiring new GM Ryan Grigson that he (Irsay) would be the one making the decision on Manning, not the new general manager. It makes a lot of sense that he'd have a strong idea of what he'd do with Manning before hiring a GM though, because he'd want said GM to be on board with his decision.

And if Irsay made up his mind weeks ago, the public sniping and "campaigning" actually makes more sense. No offense to LaCanfora, but if he knows about Manning's imminent departure, there's a strong chance Peyton knows about it too.

Meaning: the Manning-Irsay exchanges aren't those of two people hoping to make up. They're the exchanges of two people who already know they've broken up and are just waiting to see which side their collective friends take.

Now the two have, quite oddly, issued a joint statement. (You'll remember these from the halcyon days of the lockout.)

"We would like to dispel any misperception that there might be any hard feelings between us," Manning and Irsay said in a joint statement released by the team. "Since 1998, we have enjoyed a great relationship, based upon mutual respect and trust. We have always been able to talk and address matters we’ve faced over the years, not just as owner and player, but as friends.

"We had a long talk today and we want to assure Colts fans everywhere that we are both committed to maintaining our close relationship and to working together through any challenges the future may bring."

Now, without applying an ill-fitting metaphor, doesn't this kind of sound like parents addressing kids right before a divorce? ("We still love each other, but ...")

Maybe it is -- if during the long talk Manning and Irsay basically acknowledged that Peyton's going elsewhere, there's a good chance they've found some resolution to their issues. Or maybe Irsay doesn't know if he's paying Peyton or not quite yet; it just seems obvious that he won't.

Regardless, while this is a weird move, it's also a smart one: the NFL media is descending on Indianapolis in three days and the timing of Irsay's barbs on Twitter were terrible, particularly given how omnipresent he'll have to be with the NFL's biggest party going down in his city for the next seven days.

This statement should do at least a little bit to quell all the questions about the relationship he has with Manning these days.

"At this point, Mr. Irsay and I owe it to each other and to the fans of the organization to handle this appropriately and professionally, and I think we will," Manning told Kravitz on Thursday night. "I've already reached out to Mr. Irsay. I wasn't trying to paint the Colts in a bad light, but it's tough when so many people you've known for so long are suddenly leaving. I feel very close to a lot of these guys and we've done great things together.

"It's hard to watch an old friend clean out his office. That's all I was trying to say."

Manning likely knows his time is done in Indy. He has to. But as with his comments on Monday, he's not stirring up his dirt when it comes to what he thinks the Colts will do with his contract.

"I just want to keep rehabbing and working hard, and when the time is right for Mr. Irsay and I to sit down, I look forward to a healthy conversation about my future," Manning said. "I've worked too hard and have such great respect and have so many great relationships inside the building and out, and it's incredibly important that those remain."

Manning also knows how different his legacy in Indy could be depending on how he exits stage right. Which is why he doesn't want things to get personal.

"I want to separate the personal and the business," Manning told Kravitz. "I've seen it get personal in other situations, and I don't want that to happen here."

A perfect example of this is the Brett Favre saga that went down in Green Bay. Things got personal. Things got ugly. And fans in Green Bay hated Favre after he left.

Manning is a smart dude, and he obviously has a ton of love in his heart for Indianapolis and the Colts organization. But he's also smart. Even if his comments on Monday were "campaigning," they weren't part of any type of negative campaign.

Irsay fired the first salvo and now Manning's walking away. If the Colts owner chooses not to do the same things won't get heated, but they will get awkward.

Colts owner Jim Irsay has taken time out of his busy schedule of remaking the franchise to offer you, humble NFL fan and Twitter consumer, a chance to win two Super Bowl tickets. All you have to do is correctly guess Indy's next head coach.

JimIrsayIf you predict Rob Lowe, I'll have to hunt you down like a rabid rat in the dark night and tease your kin and soak ur shoes n salted waters!1/24/12 7:50 AM

We have no idea what that means but it's enough to scare us into not typing "Rob Lowe" ever again. Literally (sorry, you knew that was coming). Alright, a sampling of what the Twitterverse has come up with...

While one Manning prepares for a Super Bowl, another is just trying to get healthy. Eli is headed to Indianapolis for a Giants-Patriots rematch (even if in name only). Peyton, meanwhile, continues to recover from neck surgery that kept him sidelined for the 2011 season, played no small part in the Colts' 2-14 record, owner Jim Irsay's subsequent housecleaning, and the team's plans to take a quarterback with its well-earned first-overall pick.

Manning spoke Monday with the Indianapolis Star's Bob Kravitz about what lies ahead and it most certainly involves playing football.

“I never thought `Sodapop Curtis’ would announce my retirement,’’ Manning said, referring to Lowe’s character in the 1983 movie “The Outsiders.’’ “I always thought I would be the one to announce it. I’m a huge fan of the movie, but that caught me way off guard. I can’t explain it. I know (Lowe) is a friend of Jim’s (Irsay), and Jim sounded surprised.’’

Manning said he finally met with new general manager Ryan Grigson, who hinted that his future in Indianapolis will be determined by the owner.

"One thing he (Grigson) kind-of, sort-of told me, without really wanting to tell me, was that Irsay will be the guy I'm going to sit down and talk with. That's going to happen at some point, but we haven't had that conversation yet because we really don't need to have that conversation yet."

Manning is due a $28 million roster bonus the first week of March and whether the Colts decide to give it to him will largely be determined by his health.

"You know I don't like to say something like, 'There’s no way I can play Sunday,' then come out and play Sunday and everybody in the media is writing 'I can’t believe he’s playing,'" Manning told Kravitz. "I'm not into the drama. And I'm not into saying, 'Well, this is it, I sure have enjoyed it.' I'm not into saying goodbye. All I know is I'm still under contract to the Colts. I'm still the quarterback of the Colts That's why I'm in the building every day trying to get healthy."

Manning also lamented that the upheaval in the front office and on the coaching staff has "Everybody walking around on eggshells. I don't recognize our building right now. There's such complete and total change. … I mean, it's 20 degrees, it's snowing, the building is absolutely empty except when you see coaches cleaning out their offices," he said.

"I guess it's the reality of the football world, just not something I've had to deal with very often. But I'm in there every day, so I have to sit there and see it. Everybody's being evaluated and I'm no different. It's not the best environment."

Whatever happens in coming weeks, this much is certain: if the Colts are ready to move on from Manning, there will be plenty of teams interested in his services.

On Saturday, Colts owner Jim Irsay tweeted that the team expected to hire a coach by "mid 2 late next week." If that's the case, cross two teams off the list: Indy wanted to talk with Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden and Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell but couldn't.

According to CBS Sports Charley Casserly, Gruden turned down the Colts offer to interview and Fewell was still coaching and thus unavailable.

"They asked permission to talk to Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden," Casserly reported on The NFL Today. "He declined to interview for the head coaching job with the Colts. They also wanted permission to interview with Perry Fewell, the defensive coordinator of the Giants but they couldn't even ask permission because Fewell is still coaching."

Gruden's decision isn't particularly surprising considering he took his name out of the running for the Jaguars and Rams jobs earlier in the year, but it's a bit odd considering that he'd have his pick of top-tier quarterback to groom for the future, with Irsay already publicly saying that he'd take either Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III with the top pick.

Fewell's a name that's always right there in the running for head coaching positions, but he's never gotten enough push to land a gig. Perhaps this could've been his break, which is a shame.

It still could, if the Colts decide to wait. But it's also going to be tough for Fewell will get enough face time with Irsay and new Colts general manager Ryan Grigson if the Giants win on Sunday.

The Colts are in the market for a head coach. After cleaning house in recent weeks, team owner Jim Irsay and new general manager Ryan Grigson continue their search for the man who will help return Indianapolis to prominence.

The Colts are reportedly interested in talking to Childress, the former Vikings head coach. And Irsay's plane, according to the Indianapolis Star, was in Sarasota, Florida Friday morning before returning to Indianapolis later in the day.

Former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel, who resigned amid an NCAA investigation in May and joined the Colts as a consultant in September, has a home in the area. Multiple sources expect Tressel to interview for Caldwell's job, though the Star couldn't confirm this.

On Thursday, a Colts source told CBSSports.com's Mike Freeman that there was "no way in hell" that the organization was considering Tressel as Caldwell's replacement.

Freeman adds: "The source explained that owner Irsay likes Tressel and does want him to have some sort of role in the organization (a new head coach will have some say in that of course). Which is, well, incredible. If you remember Tressel resigned as Ohio State coach after it was determined the Buckeyes had numerous rules violations under his watch. Ohio State later self-vacated its entire 2010 season."

The three known candidates to be targeted for interviews with the Colts are Titans defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, New Orleans offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael and Cincinnati defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

Whoever ends up as Indy's new coach, the first order of business will be to decide what to do with the team's franchise quarterbacks (the one currently on the roster and the one they will inevitably draft in three months). Peyton Manning has been with the organization since 1998, although he missed the 2011 season with a neck injury. The Colts, fresh off a 2-14 effort without Manning, had won at least 10 games every year from 2002-2010 (including two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl title).

But Manning is due a $28 million roster bonus on March 8 and there's a possibility that the organization could decide to move forward without him. Indianapolis holds the first-overall pick in April's NFL Draft and Irsay has already said that they will select a quarterback regardless of Manning's health.

"With Griffin and with Luck and the way it's shaping up in the top part of the draft, which very likely could go one and two like with Peyton and Ryan Leaf -- it's most likely one of those quarterbacks that you really feel is the best player in the draft, and where we're at moving forward, that you can't pass that up," Irsay told ESPN, per the Star.